After a year that saw the making of the crime thriller Red Right Hand (starring Orlando Bloom and Andie MacDowell) in Campbellsburg, Kentucky, and Ethan Hawke visiting Shelbyville and old Louisville neighborhoods for his film Wildcat, 2022 ended with news that, all things considered, wasn’t surprising.
Louisville Movie Studio
If you can film blockbuster television like The Walking Dead and Stranger Things, and a massive film series like The Hunger Gamesin rural Georgia, you can do the same thing in Kentucky. If Atlanta can double for New York City in Avengers: Endgame, and if parts of the Peach State’s largest city can double for a fictional African kingdom in Black Panther, why can’t Louisville provide the same backdrop?
In my opinion, the answer is, “It can.” That was the thinking behind the proposal of a $65 million studio, which was expected to break ground in 2023 and be “ready for its close-up” by 2025. Well, it’s 2026, and I’m hearing crickets, but hopefully not for long.
Louisville Movie Studio Project Stalled
The original plan, which ballooned to a $70 million-plus redevelopment project, was to transform the historic old Louisville Gardens into a world-class film production studio. Built in 1905, the iconic venue has hosted speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr, and former President Harry S Truman. Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, and Frank Sinatra are among the music legends who have performed there. And Muhammad Ali, perhaps Louisville’s most famous native son ever, participated in a Golden Gloves Tournament at the Gardens.
Lots of wonderful history, yes. but lots of needed repair work, hence the long delay…